Caldwell's Eyes
by Bella Martinii
Summary: I did not know who to believe anymore. One moment he would reveal all his innermost secrets and the next he disappeared into the night - gone for weeks. Did I really want to put my trust in a dark-haired, goofy-eyed stranger...? Yes. Yes I did. LxOC
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

There was a world.

One like no other.

It was a cold place. A dark place. You did not want to go there, oh no. It wasn't for little kids like you. It was filled with strange creatures. Monsters of the night.

Demons that killed you at will.

One uneventful day, one of these unspeakable beasts grew bored of his world. He made it a habit to visit the human one. He started going there once a year, then gradually increased his visits to twice a year, then every two months, followed by every month and soon enough, he went twice a week.

Today was one of those days. He was on his way.

"You shouldn't leave our world, Than," another creature said. His voice was raspy and one could tell he wasn't used to wording out his thoughts. He followed the curious creature that was drifting slowly away into the distance.

They walked – or the term hovered seemed more accurate—yes, they _hovered_ for a couple of minutes.

Then all of a sudden, without a warning, the first creature, presumably known as Than, unfolded his dark purple wings and started flying down towards the forbidden world. He was a frightful creature. He had two wide, observant red eyes that never missed a single detail, two small slits as a nose, deep hollow cheeks and a wide black mouth that housed razor sharp yellow teeth. His body did not arouse any comfort either as it was a just a somber skeleton. The creature's prominent ribcage looked like an organic prison and if you looked closely enough, you would notice the absence of a heart; or any living organ for that matter.

That, my friend, was because this creature was a Shinigami. He was a God of Death. He was not a normal living creature like you, me, or even the neighbor's dog. He was a God that could see a human's lifespan and kill any of us in order to increase his.

Their existence, of course, was kept a secret from us human beings down below. Our ephemeral presence on Earth, in comparison to an eternity of immortality for them, meant that we held no importance to them whatsoever.

The protagonist of our little fable, Than, was prepared to go down to planet Earth, much against the protests of his friend Eaton, who was also a Death God. The latter had a less frightening appearance – well, as un-frightening as a Death God could possibly look – and was chubbier than his fellow friend. He looked like a rhinoceros and he even had a few horns that lined up vertically from his nose to the back of his head. His murky yellow eyes studied Than closely from behind.

"You must not." Eaton insisted. He had never gone down to our world, but was always told to keep away from it. Centuries of killing humans off had taught him that we were evil creatures that only brought pain to those around us.

As usual, Than ignored his friend's request and continued flying away.

Eaton had no other choice but to deploy his own pair of wings – they were stubbier and smaller than Than's but they did the trick. Than was the only one out of the Death Gods whom Eaton was prepared to call a friend and he did not want to lose him.

"I won't be long." Than said as he noticed his grey companion following him closely from behind. "Don't you worry, my friend."

Eaton kept up with Than's pace and didn't give up. They were about to leave their world, he could feel it in the atmosphere, and it was making him uneasy. The air had become denser, warmer and more humid. It made the hair on his back stand on end.

"Death Gods and humans do not mingle face to face." Eaton said, trying one last time to convince his friend that what he was doing was wrong and unethical.

Again, his comment was left unanswered.

Eaton did not know what to do anymore. The only solution was to follow his friend and keep a close eye on him. But he had to be careful.

A human woman was a deadly creature in the eyes of a Death God.


	2. One: Auburn Warmth

**One: Auburn Warmth**

"_I don't understand." I mumbled. I looked all around me and all I could see were deserted corridors enclosed in bland stone walls. I felt like I was in a prison and the mere thought of being locked up in this dump sent shivers down my spine. Why would someone willingly come here? It looked like a psych ward. I threw a skeptical look at Mona, the woman from the foster care system who had taken care of me for the last eight years. She was behind all this and I resented her for it. _

_Good Lord, England was a crappy place._

_No offense, the Queen. _

_I glanced quickly out of one of the numerous windows found along the stone wall on my left and saw that the snow still hadn't stopped falling._

_Great._

_Not only was it always cloudy in England but it was also snowing terribly often. God, I hated snow so much. It was cold and wet. I hated water and I hated any location under twenty-five degrees Celsius. _

_Obviously, England was the ideal destination for me._

"_There's nothing to understand, Evie." _

_I rolled my eyes at Mona. She was particularly fond of answering me with useless comments. I had to admit, she was quite impressive at blabbing away about nothing worthy of my attention. She was a person on my 'smack them' list. Since the first day I met her. _

"_Why am I here?" I tried again._

_Since we'd taken the plane from Florida to London, a ride I thoroughly enjoyed, (translation: one that made me so nervous I had to throw up in the cabin's restroom), Mona hadn't spared a single second to answer my incessant questions._

'_Why are we leaving the US to go to England?'_

'_I'm no longer homeschooled? What's a real school like?'_

'_Why's everything changing?'_

'_Mona, why aren't you answering me?'_

'_Mona… where the bloody hell is _Winchester?'

_Surprisingly enough, she answered none._

_She was such a bitch._

_Mona heaved an exasperated sigh and her shoulders slumped slightly. I knew I was giving her a hard time and she knew I was enjoying myself doing so. I would have cackled evilly to myself at her expense just to spite her if it weren't for the deserted corridors we currently found ourselves in. It was during these rare moments when I felt the most human, and she was aware of that. She allowed me to be unkind to her. _

_After all… life had been unkind to me._

_Eight years had passed since the death of my family and I still felt like I had nothing left. I was still alone. Her taking in my awful behavior without a word was her way of sympathizing with me._

_But I didn't need her sympathy._

_Oh no, screw _that_ shit._

_I just wanted her to leave me alone._

_If it weren't so sad and pathetic I'd find it ironic that she was currently the closest person I had in the world. I'd been handed over and tossed around like a toy from foster care to various foster parents. And when one family grew sick of me, they'd create an accident and put the blame on me. _

_This, of course, resulted in my quick return to the system._

_Into the open and welcoming arms of Mona._

_I snorted._

"_I won't give up." I warned. I wanted her to know that I wasn't about to stop bombarding her with questions._

"_Neither will I." Her defiant tone might have seemed final to her, but I knew I would get to her in the end. I always did. She pitied me too much and I had always used that in my favor._

"_Mkay, whatever you say… Mona la fea."_

_She looked sideways at me and I smirked. She smiled back._

_I had called her like that since I was six. Instead of feeling offended and scolding me like any normal adult would, she had always taken it lightly. She probably thought I was joking._

_But I wasn't._

_Mona was one fucking ugly woman._

_We walked in silence for a few more minutes before she spoke._

"_Evie, this is your new school."_

_I raised my eyebrows._

_As if I hadn't gathered you idiot. I saw the classrooms. God, you could be so stupid, Mona. It's no wonder you ended up working for the system._

_Of course, I chose not to voice my thoughts out loud this time._

_I let her carry on._

"_This is a new step in your life. You've been homeschooled ever since your parents died. I think it's about time you start having a normal life once again. There's no better time than high school." She forced a laugh. The cold tone in her voice gave me the impression that her high school years were not the easiest ones of her life. I tried picturing her at the tender age of sixteen and all I could see in my mind was a pimply Mexican girl with braces, holding a notebook close to her chest – something that probably greatly resembled a daily journal in which she doodled and wrote down small verses during her classes._

_By the time I realized I had blanked out during her speech, she was nearing the end._

"_Forget everything that has happened the last years and—" She suddenly stopped and kept quiet. She'd realized what she'd just said and looked away in shame. If she hadn't done so I would've sent her a look that could kill. " …I'm sorry. That's not what I meant."_

_I said nothing in return. The mere fact that she even suggested I'd forget my family was disgusting. There were times during which I really hated Mona with all my guts._

_This, my friends, was one of them._

"_Just tell me why I'm here." I sighed. I no longer had enough strength to keep up with this annoying adult. I just wanted to get into bed and curl up into a ball and lose consciousness. My life was unbearable… sleep was my only source of consolation._

_My, oh my, what a great life I was leading._

_She probably felt bad or something because miraculously enough she started blabbing._

"_We can't just leave a young child like you, with such a clever mind, go to waste. You're full of potential and I hope you realize that, Evie." She paused. I yawned. "I mean, think about it, you need to make the most while you still can. You've got this great opportunity to do great things, and this school will help you achieve all your hopes and dreams. And—"_

_Jeez. 'You need to make the most while you still can'. Was she trying to make it sound like I was terminally ill?_

…_Or maybe I was dying. Slowly and painfully. I was dying inside perhaps._

_I knew Mona was still talking but I blocked her out once again. She was one of those people that had an annoying nasal voice (and to make matters worse, it was mixed up with a slight Mexican accent) and I couldn't stand her lecturing me. Half of what she said didn't even make any sense to begin with. She was the epitome of incessant jabber. _

"_Okay, sure." I merely said, hoping to dismiss her._

_She wasn't too convinced._

_Crumb._

_I thought I had her._

"_You should see this as the gate to your new life."_

_Could she sound cheesier?_

_God. I wanted to smack her so bad. I would hit her so hard she'd start crying out obscenities in Spanish._

"_I mean, why this dump? Why _Winchester_?" Even the name of the city grossed me out. It sounded like a disease. And it was such a useless place, too. There was nothing here. It was dead. "I was perfectly fine back in the US."_

_Mona paused. She seemed to hesitate; as if she knew there were certain things she couldn't say._

"_San Diego wasn't the greatest place on Earth for a girl like you." Mona muttered, shaking her head. "Full of druggies …" Her voice faded away. Not that I cared or anything. Most of what she said went unheard by me – the constant clicking of her high heels on the school floor irritated me to no end and there was nothing I wanted more than to turn around and run away towards the open fields which seemed to surround this place. I needed air. " …I don't even know why our main centre is located there. It's so dry in the summer."_

_Dryness._

_I mentally scoffed at how ridiculous her priorities were. I had developed quite a liking to San Diego. The beach proved to be a great distraction. Plus, it never snowed there. I hated snow._

"_Well… what about—" I was going to suggest Tampa, Florida. That was the location of the fourth family of foster parents who took care of me. Mona wasn't thinking along the same lines, though._

"_L.A.?" she interrupted me. "Goodness no Evie! What's wrong with you?"_

_I eyed her warily._

_I was never going to mention L.A. Ugh! This woman could be so freaking daft!_

_She was doing my head in with all her asinine remarks._

_I promised myself I would never set foot in L.A ever again. Let alone Kirkwood._

_Mona probably felt the sudden tension between us and decided to cleverly change the subject of our conversation._

"_At least you have a school, okay? Millions of children would die to even have this type of education. I heard Churchill studied here! And apparently most students who graduate here are often sent to the top universities of the world. Why can't you just be grateful? For once?"_

_I did not answer her. _

_I had my whole family taken away from me. What was a grateful for?_

"_I'll be grateful one day."_

_When I'll find Cole. When I'll be reunited with my twin brother._

_He wasn't dead. I just knew it. Twins felt these things. Everyone told me that I had to stop hoping. My parents were dead. In such a stormy winter's day, Cole would not have survived either if he were wounded. He was dead._

_Death was the easiest solution for everyone._

_But I never took the simple way out._

_I would never give up._

_Mona kept her mouth shut. She sensed that I was suddenly in a foul mood. She knew what I was hinting at and did not want to go anywhere near the subject of Cole. We had been through that topic a thousand times. She knew that he was my sensitive point. _

_She suddenly took my hand, perhaps trying to reassure me, and we turned right, starting up another dark and meaningless corridor. This place was a maze. And it was giving me the creeps. I took my hand away from hers almost instantly. I didn't want her to touch me. I didn't want anyone to touch me. I was comfortable around no one._

_I trusted no one._

_Attempting to get Cole and L.A. out of my mind I observed my surroundings. The place was clean. I could tell the janitors here were very meticulous at their job but nonetheless; it reminded me of a somber hospital. It wasn't warm or welcoming at all. All I could picture in my mind were black figures, hovering up and about along the corridors, whispering dark and menacing things to me – things I didn't understand. I pictured a few holding out their hands out to me, begging me to follow them… But follow them where? The uncertainty of the final destination they seemed to promise me made my heart pulsate faster out of fear._

_The dark figures coming and going, the blurriness of details was making me dizzy and drowsy. They looked menacing but at the same time, there was a hint of comfort they seemed to provide that interested me. If only they'd stop moving, I might've gotten a glimpse of them…_

"_Evie. Evie?" I felt someone shaking my right shoulder "Hey, Evie, we're here." My eyes snapped out of their daydreaming trance and I looked up at tall, double oak doors with the word 'headmaster' engraved on one of them. Mona knocked lightly before opening it._

_We heard a cough and then a deep, manly voice called out. _

"_Come in."_

_Mona turned around to face me and gave me a weak smile. _

_I didn't return it._

"_Hurry now, we don't want to keep him waiting." She ushered me in, and I couldn't help noticing how her voice turned condescending. It was alarming how fake she could become in a matter of seconds. I was not a child and I refused to be seen as one. I had probably suffered through more things eight years ago than she ever will in her whole life. I stood my ground because I didn't quite want to go into the headmaster's office. I was a little scared. She shook her head as I peered through the threshold._

_Mona strutted her way towards a tall and towering man who was getting up from his seat and greeted him with a handshake before prepping him with details concerning me. The man was dominating the whole room and I instinctively took a step back. I bumped into something hard behind me and stumbled sideways._

_My face was just about to have a lovely encounter with the hard, cold floor when a pair of hands grabbed me by the waist and held me back._

_I released a breath of air._

"_Woah! Easy!" A young boy's voice said reassuringly. He laughed quickly as he helped me back up on my feet steadily. "Clumsy much?"_

_Wait. When did_he _get here?_

_He was so close. _

_I could feel his breath tickle the nape of my neck._

_I had a vey strict personal bubble and people this close made me feel incredibly uncomfortable, even threatened. I didn't feel safe around anyone. I shuddered involuntarily at the close contact and, ripping myself away from his grip, I swiveled around to glare at him. I found myself staring straight at his chest and frowned as I gradually looked up at his face. I caught my breath as I got a glimpse of his eyes and took a step back._

_He was beautiful._

_It was awful… but in a really pleasant way._

"_Please don't touch me." I muttered. The boy frowned and smiled at the same time. He held up his hands in the air in his defense, his bright green eyes latched on mine. Their fierce emerald hue entranced me and they were so piercing I had the impression they could uncover anything about me just by looking at me in the eyes. They seemed so serious and analytical yet there was something curious about his attitude that seemed to mock me. I didn't appreciate it and I gave him a nasty look. He caught notice of it and rubbed the back of his neck somewhat nervously._

_I couldn't look at him in an unfriendly way for too long however, because he was so goddamn handsome._

Good Lord_, he was so hot._

_It baffled me._

_His eyes had caught my attention first but his hair had come in at a close second. It was of a nice kind of auburn color and didn't quite place him in the redhead category. It was a tinge darker than the stereotypical Ron Weasley shade. It fell lightly (and perfectly) in front of his eyes, but even that did not obscure the radiating brightness of his emerald orbs. _

_Resting on his head, on top of his beautiful hair, were glasses._

_Or… no. I squinted upwards to get a better look. No, they looked more like goggles. Yeah… goggles. _

_How curious._

_I looked back at his face and his eyes were looking above my head. As if sensing the sudden attention, his eyes flew back over mine and he attempted to smile. I didn't return it. I was too captivated by the simple beauty of his face. He was radiating a youthful innocence and prideful joy. He had such a grandiose joie de vivre; it was almost palpable._

_I was surprised to see that my morbidly depressing presence had not brought him down yet._

_As if my eyes on his were suddenly bothersome, the boy picked up his goggles and propped them on his nose before sliding them up self-consciously. I could tell he was sizing me up much more thoroughly from behind the yellow tinted glass of his spectacles. It was evident that he felt more secure behind them but— and I was being honest here— they were absolutely horrendous._

_They did, however, mask his face well and I guessed that it was its main purpose._

_The thickly white-rimmed goggles unsettled me and I looked away. Out of nervousness, I glanced behind me to check on Mona and the headmaster but they were still discussing 'adult' matters._

_Great._

_Oh goodness… I didn't even know what to do. What was I supposed to say to him? _

… _Oh wait a minute, Evie. I was the one to speak last. It was his turn!_

_I was so stupid at times._

_I turned back towards him and waited. It was a mystery why people didn't run away as fast as they could after interacting with me. I was a social disaster._

_He was still looking at me._

_Realizing that I was, indeed, waiting for him to speak, he opened his mouth. It graced a slight smirk._

"_I'm _sorry_." He told me, putting more emphasis on the last word. "I wasn't aware that you wanted to permanently disfigure yourself. Would've been a shame… a face like that." He winked at me and gave me a charming smile. His voice was light but clear and precise. His speech was perfect and eloquent. A well-raised boy. I wondered where he was from – he didn't seem to have a particular accent. Maybe he was one of those international kids who were bilingual or even multilingual. Mona _did _say that this was a prestigious school._

_I did not know what to say back to him._

_I stared._

_I was racking my brain for the most gratifying retaliation but found none._

_My interaction with him felt like an eternity when really, I was sure it only lasted about a minute. It was probably painful to see. If that was truly the case— if I was really an awkward turtle— the goggles guy did not show it. He was being pleasant and he was smiling. I guess he was enjoying himself; I could tell he was silently making fun of me._

_Good God, Evie. You were never going to have a boyfriend._

_Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime of silence, my brain mustered the courage to make me speak._

"_Yeah well. I couldn't find goggles to hide my face so…" I trailed off and shrugged. A smile played on his lips for a while before he threw his head back and released a reverberating, throaty laugh. He looked back down at me, thoroughly delighted. It was a feel-good kind of laugh, one that contaminated others and made them want to join in._

_I let out a quick chuckle, which surprised not only him but also myself._

"_You're funny." He stated as he poked me softly on my left arm. I smiled and said nothing. I continued looking at him and realized that he was dressed quite oddly too. He was wearing dark jeans that weren't too loose or too tight. I could tell they were the kind that hung nicely around the waist. He was also wearing a long-sleeved striped shirt that had black and burgundy horizontal lines. It was rather horrifying, but at least it didn't clash with the color of his hair._

_Either this boy had no fashion sense whatsoever or didn't give a shit._

_I opted for the second option._

_There was a certain nonchalance about him that interested me. He was laid-back and friendly. I hadn't met someone like that in a while. _

_A long, long while._

_I was about to ask him if he studied here when his eyes flew over my head and hardened. Before I could turn around and see what had captured his attention, a large hand planted itself on my left shoulder. I jumped slightly and turned sideways to see a middle-aged man with thinning grey hair and thick stubble on his face, looking down at me. His eyes were cold and calculating and I could tell he was sizing me up and evaluating my appearance. He was analyzing details of his first impression of me in a matter of seconds. _

"_Evie." He gave me a sharp smile. "Come inside, my dear." His grip on my shoulder tightened slightly and he steered me towards his desk. I looked back at the boy again for no particular reason. I was just beginning to like him. I felt a tinge of regret that our short one-sided conversation had ended. I still hadn't figured out why he was there either and it bothered me a little._

_He was still looking at me and gave me the thumbs up. Instead of beaming back like any normal girl would do (especially in the presence of such a good-looking boy), I looked away and ignored him. Great Evie. Now he probably thought I was a total bitch. I had a feeling I wouldn't be very skilled at making new friends here. It wasn't like I wanted to either; I barely cared._

"_As for you—" the headmaster started, angling his face towards the boy, "—wait here. There has been an unexpected turn of events, but I will deal with you for smoking on school grounds later, you hear me?"_

_The boy smoked? I pouted. What a shame, I was a strict anti-smoker. _

_I glanced down at my feet._

_And what did 'unexpected turn of events' mean?_

_Is that what I was to the headmaster? An event?_

_I looked up and threw a seething glare at the back of his head and the boy laughed loudly as he caught a glimpse. The headmaster motioned me towards a chair and walked back towards the kid. He looked down at him in an attempt to look intimidating. The boy smiled cheekily back before the headmaster swung the door shut in his face._

_Ah, such a welcoming school. I was so glad to be here._

_I sat down in a very stylish but uncomfortable chair. The only good thing about it was that it was bright purple and I quite liked the color purple. It was neither too aggressive nor too boring. And it was neither girly nor boyish. It was a perfect hue._

_I noticed Mona sitting like a quiet little puppy in an armchair against the back wall. She glanced at me but said nothing. I couldn't help noticing how satisfied she looked. Perhaps the discussions with the headmaster proved to be fruitful?_

_I threw the headmaster a bored look. It was the only thing I could do to properly mask the tenseness that was beginning to build up inside of me. This whole school disturbed me on an emotional level. Change always scared me because I always felt like I was losing a part of my family and myself every time I changed location. I was switching from one life to another _constantly_ and I was petrified of losing myself completely amongst all them._

_I started fiddling with my childhood locket that was hanging loosely around my neck. It was the only symbolic thing I had left from my mother and it was the only thing that comforted me during times of hardship. She had given it to me before I could even remember. Inside was a little teal apatite gemstone. I had never asked her what it meant – I assumed she would tell me someday, when I was older._

_But now it was too late._

_I would never know._

… _And perhaps –_

_Perhaps it didn't mean anything at all._

_That thought depressed me even more._

"_Evie Snow." The headmaster declared, interrupting my thoughts. I clutched my locket in my right hand, stroking it with my index finger as I anxiously listened to him. He got comfortable in his own seat and picked up my previous school records and opened up a certain folder. I couldn't help noticing the folder's color. It was red. An image of blood glistening on wooden floorboards flashed in my mind but I mentally pushed it aside. Right now was not the moment to think about those things. Then again, it never was. "Fourteen years old." The headmaster's voice broke me out of my somber flashback and I nodded curtly in response as his eyes flew to my face. "Born on December 24th, 1986. Residence: Sullivan Crescent, Winchester—"_

"—_It's probably temporary." I interjected, unable to stop myself. I hadn't even met my English foster parents yet. Those eight years filled with bitterness reminded me that foster parents never really took care of someone like me for very long. It was difficult to find someone who truly cared. I held the locket more tightly in my hand._

_The headmaster ignored me and carried on. Mona scowled at me and I scowled right back._

"_So you're an orphan." He put it bluntly. "Under Ms. Endara's care for now." He glanced at Mona but failed to see that she was currently making hand gestures at me from behind the armrest in order to calm me down. It seemed she had noticed that I wasn't agreeing with the way the headmaster was handling the situation. I openly rolled my eyes at her. "And your record is clean." The headmaster added. It took him a couple of minutes to read my previous results and academic achievements before he whistled a low tune. He seemed quite impressed._

_It was nothing majestic, really. I was homeschooled and it seemed that it was easier to get better results seeing as I was always speaking to my teachers one on one rather than being drowned out in a class of thirty students. I mentioned none of that, of course, and kept quiet. The longer I kept my mouth shut, the quicker this whole procedure would go._

_The headmaster then closed my folder, signed a couple of papers and made Mona sign a few papers herself._

"_Is that it?" I questioned; I wasn't too impressed with how quickly he was done with things, but at the same time, I felt relieved._

"_That's it. Welcome to the International School of Winchester."_

_Wow._

_Such an original name._

_I released my locket out of my grasp out of relief and looked out the window to catch a glimpse outside. The whole place was covered in simple, white snow. Ugh, I know… it was already snowing in November. It was glowing outside and yet— I couldn't hear a single person playing on school grounds. It was dead._

_I could hear Mona's squeal of delight and I saw her shake hands with him out of the corner of my eye._

_This was her ticket out of my life. And she was ecstatic._

"_We are happy to have you as part of this school, Ms. Snow."_

_Yeah, well. I'm not as happy to have you as part of my life now… sir._

_God, what a prick._

_I looked at the headmaster who was smiling down at me._

_Snow._

_I simply stared back out the window._

_The snow still hadn't ceased._

—CE—

_Light. Dark. Light. Dark._

_It was still snowing outside._

_Light. Dark. Light. Dark._

_The same pattern over and over again as I walked down the corridor. The windows on my right side were all sealed._

_Every single one of them._

_Good God._

International School of Winchester.

_Bollocks!_

_This was a joke. There was no way an international school sealed every, single window! _

_Was I really in an asylum?_

_Was I stupid enough to have let Mona tricked me into such a dire situation?_

_I thought about it._

_No._

_Mona was too dumb to even come up with such a strategy. I gave her too much credit._

_I glanced at all the other students strolling casually from one class to another. I looked down at the sheet the headmaster gave me a few days ago and I tried deciphering it. I glanced up at the numbers engraved on each classroom door._

_304. 305. 306._

_I gulped and looked back down, skimming my timetable for today._

_My next class was nowhere near any 300s._

_Crumb._

_I couldn't even figure out my own timetable._

_See! This was the effect England had on me!_

_It managed to shrink my brain to half its original size in a matter of days. It was probably as big as an old dry sponge by now._

_Good Lord, please help me._

_Ugh!_

_I looked back down at my schedule and heaved a sigh._

_This was complete and utter bollocks._

_How the hell was I supposed to understand this? There were numbers and letters everywhere, and I had to admit, even though I was far from being dumb, I couldn't understand a single thing. This was just ridiculous. The paper in my hands was the least user-friendly map and timetable I'd ever laid eyes on. I spent five more minutes, standing in the middle of the busy corridor, trying to figure it all out when someone shoved me hardly on my left side._

_I yelped and dropped my schedule on the floor._

_I saw it lying on the floor and gave it a look of pity._

_I don't know… perhaps I was begging it to magically fly back into my open palm?_

_I tried being Matilda._

_The schedule didn't budge._

…_Of course it didn't._

_I had a ton of schoolbooks balanced on my right arm (because naturally, with my mad schedule reading skills, I had no clue where my locker was) and my heavy bag (which was heavy because it was full of second-hand school books) was slung over my left shoulder. It was a miracle I even managed to stand up. I quickly said a short 'thank you' to God for not making me topple over and drop all of my books over the floor. That would have been mortifying._

_I turned around looking at the person who had so rudely walked into me, but found no one muttering an apology. No surprises there, the place was PACKED. I literally felt like I'd been forced into an ant house or something. I stuck out my lower jaw and bent down awkwardly, trying to reach for my timetable. I felt the books slipping slowly out of my grasp and I straightened up immediately._

_This was not going to be easy._

_Not easy at all._

_I tried again, seconds after I'd readjusted my belongings on my arm. I was trying my best to look normal, but I couldn't ignore the fact that I looked like I had pissed on myself. I tried my best to get a hold of my paper amidst the huge buzzing corridor. But it was no use. I could not get it._

_It was just the type of thing I needed for my first day at school._

_And on top of all that, I really _did _have to pee._

_I was such an attractive girl. I tell you. Boys came crawling on their knees, begging me for my affection._

_I was halfway through my third attempt (and I was almost there too!) when I came to a halt. A pair of old, worn out combat boots stopped in front of my outstretched hand. I stared at it for quite a while before realizing that yes—they _did _belong to someone and yes—I was still hunched over, I still looked like I had to pee, and I still hadn't picked up my _fucking_ schedule that was on the _fucking_ floor._

"_Need some help?"_

_A delicate hand was reaching down to grasp my schedule._

_Oh._

_I scrambled back up, trying to look as composed as possible._

_(Side-note: my definition of a composed look was hair all over the place, probably rosy cheeks, and, with my luck, snot up my nose)._

_I looked up at the boy in question and I couldn't help letting my mouth hang open._

_GOD, NO. I WASN'T EVEN CHEWING GUM. MY BREATH WAS NOT FRESH._

_I REPEAT._

_NOT. FRESH._

_I quickly closed it back shut._

_It was the same boy I saw at the headmaster's office three days ago. I examined his face a little more than I did the first time but it was exactly as I had remembered it. He had the same emerald green eyes and the same auburn hair. Not to mention those hideous goggles that were resting on his head. He bent down to pick up the damned piece of paper. _

_He squatted on the floor, studying every detail on it. _

_His gorgeous hair fell in his eyes and he pushed his bangs to the side to get a clear view of what he was looking at. He was even more beautiful than I remembered and I couldn't believe my luck. Out of this huge crowd, he had appeared out of nowhere to help me out. I didn't think these things actually happened in real life._

_I stood there, gawking at him for what seemed like an eternity before I realized that his bright green orbs were looking up at me intriguingly. I continued staring at him._

_He straightened back up and waved it idly in front of my face._

"_Uh, hello?" His face disappeared from my line of vision as he blocked it with my schedule._

_I snatched it away quickly._

"_Thank you." I told him before walking away. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't really waste my time on idle chit-chat. I didn't particularly care if I was being rude or not, I was not prepared to make any friends as of yet, let alone spend time with a guy that was way out of my league. I would only make a fool of myself in front of him._

_Oh, and I unconditionally wanted to get to class on time._

_Arriving late meant a charming greeting with two-dozen stares. I wasn't prepared for that._

_So… no. I definitely had no time to socialize with this gorgeous guy. But I wanted to._

_Oh Lord, how I wanted to…_

_Unless—_

_I stopped dead in my tracks._

_Hm. Hang on._

_I slowly turned around to face him again. He observed me with a bemused expression; his hand was still hanging in the air from when he was holding my schedule up. He looked liked he knew what I was about to ask him._

_I shuffled lamely back in his direction._

"_Um." He raised an eyebrow at me but had a slightly smug expression, as if he knew all along that I was going to come back. I wasn't sure if I liked this guy or not. He seemed nice but at the same time he looked so conceited his head could explode. "Can you tell me where this is?" I pointed to room 904 on my schedule and looked at his face. I added, "Please". Just for good measure, you know._

"_Sure." He said in a pleasant tone, not wasting a single minute. He snatched the piece of paper back from me in the same way I had done it to him. I noticed a vague hint of a smile on his face and I guess he found it amusing that he was getting the piece of paper back after I had so rudely taken it away from him. He peered down at the printed writing and squinted at the spot where my index finger was pointing. He did the same face as last time, that is to say, he frowned and smiled at the same time. It was a weird combination, but it seemed to convey his amusement well._

_Suddenly, he looked up at me and laughed in my face. It was out of nowhere._

"_Uh, what's so funny?" I asked him, my voice adopting an accusing tone. He was making fun of me and I was starting to feel embarrassed. I tried expressing my irritation but he hadn't even bothered looking at me. I felt slightly insulted but tried taking it lightly._

_Finally, after he was finally done laughing by himself, he threw me an incredulous look._

"_How the bloody hell did you get yourself _here_?" He started laughing at me again._

_I fidgeted with my hands nervously and I chose not to say anything. I was probably better off staying silent. I didn't want to make an even bigger fool of myself in front of him. I simply shrugged._

_If he hadn't figured out that I was mentally incompetent three days ago then it was surely clear to him now. I wasn't the greatest socialite in the world._

_He extended his arms out in front of him and had an overall look at my schedule._

"_Hm. Most of your classes are with me." He added brightly. He then brought it right in front of his nose, hiding the bottom half of his face. I could only see his eyes and they were skimming over the rest of my classes. I could see that his eyes crinkled slightly on the sides and knew he was smiling to himself. _

"_Come on. Follow me, this class is the same one for the both of us." He looked at me over the piece of paper._

_I tried hiding my delight._

_I was going to have some eye candy today…_

_He entwined his arm with mine and dragged me through the busy corridor. He was strong and I felt like I wasn't even walking. I looked up at him as he frayed himself a passageway through the crowd. He was smiling lightly as he held on to me and I couldn't help wondering why he was being so nice. I was never used to the generous kindness of others._

_Well._

_I was never really offered any and if I did receive lavish amounts of sympathy, I never fully trusted a person's intentions behind it._

_The boy suddenly pointed in a direction to my right. "This way." I didn't really have a choice to be fair. He was still pulling me by the arm. It was making me uncomfortable, but I couldn't bring myself to say no because I definitely did not want to get lost again. We spent most of the time walking in silence but it wasn't awkward at all because of all the loud chatter in the school hallways. I didn't specifically feel like talking to him._

_He smelled nice. That's all I could really think about during our little perilous trek through the busy school corridors. I've never been very good at describing things, and it was tough trying to explain his aroma. I didn't know if it was the odor of his laundry soap and softener, or if it was just a fragrance he used… I couldn't tell. All I knew was that it was a light and fresh scent and it was redolent of the fields or the woods. It made me think of an old church abandoned in a meadow. _

_His smell awakened my imagination and I suddenly started thinking of how it would feel like to be free from everyday conventions. I wondered about the ability to go wherever I wanted at any time I desired. I envisioned myself strolling along a stream in the middle of the woods on an early spring day, and shy rays of sunlight would stream in through the young, light green leaves of maple and pine trees. I pictured him with me, holding my hand, kicking in the water on certain occasions to playfully splash me. We'd pick flowers and smell them and have a picnic by the side of an oversized oak trunk – we'd sit on its old and mighty roots that soared like water out of the earth. _

_I'd stroke his hair and tell him I missed him. And he'd tell me not to cry because he would never leave me again, not like he did back then. But that wouldn't change a thing. I'd still cry. _

_God, I missed him._

_A sharp tug to my right reminded me that the auburn haired boy was still holding on to my arm, and was still pulling me along with him towards classroom 904. He had turned right at a rather tight corner and did not make notice of my absent-mindedness. We suddenly emerged through a much less busy hallway and we walked down a flight of stairs. He had taken a shortcut and I heaved a sigh of relief; the constant buzzing from upstairs was starting to irritate me. _

_The boy caught my aggravated look and chuckled. He released my arm and slowed down his pace. It seemed he preferred being out of the crowd, too. He swung his arms back and forth nonchalantly and looked at me. I think he was waiting for me to say something but I didn't know what to tell him. I wasn't really gifted with the power of speech in front of people I barely knew and so made no extra effort to commence the conversation._

"_It's not often this school gets new students." He tried._

_I had to admit, he didn't go looking very far for a topic._

_I threw him an unconvinced look._

_I had no clue what to say to that so I just gave him a quick smile. _

_The problem was that he wasn't looking at my face at that exact moment so he probably had no idea of my gesture. It was the most useless thing ever. Great going, Evie. Why was every single interaction I had with this guy so difficult? I knew I was pretty bad with people, but I was never _this_ bad! Good God._

_The boy didn't seem perturbed by my lack of communication and tried his luck with something else._

"_So, where are you from?" his voice was gently and not too pushy. He was making an immense effort at being friendly. What was his deal?_

_Luckily for me, the question was an easy one._

"_America." I replied._

_He nodded._

"_I'm from Winchester. Good old, England." I noticed that his voice only had a slight tinge of an English accent. I could barely hear it._

_I refrained myself from pointing out that I, in no way, had asked him where he came from. But I didn't mention it out loud._

"_Word on the street is that you're an orphan." He stated bluntly, looking at me with an interested look. He was straight to the point and this made me realize that he liked making his intentions clear. It didn't surprise me that he knew my parents no longer existed. This school seemed like the kind of place that would encourage such gossip. Nobody had anything else better to do than talk about who got in trouble or who skipped a class. It was tiring and irritating. And this was only my first day. I stared at him. "I didn't mean to sound rude," he added quietly, " I was just wondering if it was true." _

_He didn't apologize – probably because he wouldn't have meant it in the first place. I was glad that he was being honest with me. What annoyed me, however, was that he was proving to be more talkative than I'd first anticipated. It was starting to exasperate me. Communication was such a forte of mine._

"_Why do you want to know?" I asked him. No one really showed any interest in me. I didn't understand why someone would now. He shrugged in a very European way. His shoulders went up slowly and plopped back down in a dejected manner._

"_Oh. Well, I'm an orphan, too. So I was just wondering…" he trailed off. I stopped in my tracks and stared at him. He had managed to put his goggles on without me noticing and was looking ahead. He had stopped walking too but made no move to look at me. His goggles looked funny on him and they lightly hid his eyes. A few people gave him strange looks as they passed us but we both ignored them. My eyes were fixated on him, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or not. His goggles were making it difficult for me to know for sure. He didn't seem to be lying. "And…" he stopped. "And I wanted to make a new friend." He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably like he did the first time we met before looking at me._

_I didn't believe him._

_But I didn't say anything. I just nodded._

"_Come on," he motioned for me to follow him. "We're going to be late."_

"_Okay." _

_It seemed people became friends easily here. I wasn't sure I was entirely okay with it._

_We walked the rest of the way in silence before he knocked on a door with the number 904. I pressed my schoolbooks a little closer to my chest. We were slightly late which meant that the rest of the students were already sitting down, probably all facing the blackboard. I wasn't ready for all their judgmental stares. I wondered how many of them knew I was an orphan already…_

_He didn't wait for an answer before swinging the door wide open._

_He placed his goggles back on his head before taking a step inside. I followed closely behind him. His presence in front of the classroom comforted me. His face was now graced with a wide, brilliant smile as he bid good morning to the classroom. I could spot a couple of people putting their hands up in greeting. He obviously knew the majority of them really well. Others ignored him as they peered at me. I was standing directly behind him. His shoulders masked me well and I skimmed quickly through the rows of desks, looking for the professor._

_It was a big classroom with quite a fair number of seats. The blackboard at the front took pretty much the whole space on the wall. Long horizontal windows ran along the whole of the left wall, the one facing us, and I was happy to see that I would be provided with some kind of a distraction. I finally spotted the man in question as he walked towards us between two rows of student desks. It was clear that the auburn haired boy had interrupted him during role call because his expression was dark and annoyed. The boy in front of me merely continued smiling._

"_Good morning Mister Hall!" the kid said brightly. He took his bag off his shoulder and plopped it on the ground. "Sorry for being late but—"_

"_Sit down Jazz. You're already late. Don't make me waste my time more than I already have."_

_The boy shrugged – his smile never leaving his face – and picked up his bag before making his way towards a window seat near the back of the class. He'd completely forgotten about me and I stood there alone, in front of the whole class, as they looked me up and down. Judging._

_Great. Just what I wanted._

_Professor Hall, who was to teach me literature in ISW, walked towards me in large, dry strides and slid his classes down his nose to look at me._

_I was about to open my mouth and give him my name and my slip of paper when a voice at the back of the class interrupted me._

_It was the boy again._

"_Oh yeah, I didn't get a chance to finish." He said. He was at the back of the class. A pencil was already in his mouth and he was tilting his chair backwards by supporting his feet on the legs of his desk. _

_It seemed he had made himself comfortable._

_Hall looked up at him out of pure nuisance._

"_There is no need—" he started but the boy ignored him. He pointed at me._

"_She's the new girl everyone's talking about. She got lost and I was helping her out." He paused. "Just saying." He stated with a frank face. I didn't know what took him to present me in front of everyone in such a straightforward manner but it was embarrassing. I glared at him and I think he saw it before he looked out the window momentarily. Hall huffed and took my slip of paper to write my name down on the attendance list. I was still looking at the boy when his eyes suddenly flickered over mine and there was a fleeting second during which they communicated such a calculating and analytical coldness that it surprised me. I wasn't prepared for such a piercing look. While his face and his smile oozed friendliness and warmth, his eyes portrayed something entirely different._

_Something forbidding._

_I quickly looked away and took my slip of paper back as soon as Hall gave it to me.__ I made my way towards the back of the class and sneaked a small peak at him again. He had brought his chair back down and he was now leaning on his table. His left arm was propped up and his head was resting on the palm of his hand. He was staring out the window, completely unaware of his surroundings and looking utterly bored already._

"_You can sit down now Ms. Snow."_

_My eyes widened in horror as I realized I was standing in the middle of the classroom staring at him._

_Shit!_

_Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. SHIT._

_I quickly hurried towards a seat in the right corner and sunk in it. I had darted away from the window as much as possible. I wanted to be invisible. A few girls had giggled but didn't make a big deal about it. I noticed the boy hadn't even realized I was staring at him. He couldn't care less._

_It was as if, I no longer interested him._

_UGH._

_How mortifying. I was getting so worked up about a guy that had a ridiculous name—_

_(I mean, seriously. Jazz? Who names their kid Jazz? Bloody hell…)_

_And— and…. God! He probably didn't even give a damn. Why was I focusing my attention on him so much? Why was his presence bothering me? He did nothing wrong and yet—_

_Something about him made me uneasy. I couldn't figure it out._

_I ignored the rest of Hall's role call and moped at the fact that I was sitting nowhere near the window. This was the price I had to pay for arriving late and for being an embarrassment to humankind. I squinted over a few heads to try and get a glimpse out the window but it was useless. I could only see the cloudy sky. I hadn't even seen a single ray of sunshine since I'd arrived in the stupid country._

_All I noticed was that the windows were all sealed in this school._

_This classroom was no exception._

_It was depressing as hell._

_This school was probably the worst one in the whole country: sealed windows, dark corridors, arrogant teachers, and redhead students with stupid goggles and stupid striped shirts…_

_Ugh._

_Kill me now pleeeeease._

_If this was what I was going to put up with for four more years I was going to freaking shoot myself in the head._

_The windows were bothering me the most. Ever since what had happened eight years ago, I couldn't bear being in such an enclosed space. I still had nightmares at night. It was a miracle I didn't end up in an asylum or a psych ward. I thanked God every single night for that._

_I took a deep breath._

…

_UGH._

_Damn it!_

_How on Earth was I supposed to breathe in here? Someone _had_ to open the goddamn windows! Come ON. Anyone!_

_Who the hell decided to seal every single freaking window in such a huge school?_

_Seriously!_

_If I didn't have a breath of fresh air soon I'd go crazy._

_I crossed my arms on my desk and plopped my head on them. My breath was shortening and I could feel the pace of my heart quicken. I closed my eyes and thought of Cole and how we'd meet again someday. It was something I told myself every time this kind of anxiety attack happened. I knew I'd find him somewhere. Someday. I never stopped searching. I was going to work my ass off and get a proper university degree – well, after I was done with this shithole – and I was going to integrate the UN or the freaking CIA or anything. Anything that had power. _

_And then I would track him down._

_He couldn't be dead._

_He just… couldn't._

_I felt myself relaxing at the thought that one day I'd be in his arms again. I missed my twin brother so much. I was sure no one had ever experienced the kind of trauma and pain I had at this age._

_It was unbearable…_

_How much strength did I have left in me to endure such overbearing psychological weight?_

_I remained like that in class with my eyes closed for the remaining hour. Hall had probably forgotten I was even in this class. That was a good thing. Unnoticeable. That was what I was going for._

_I didn't fall asleep during that period. I was never able to fall asleep easily – even in my own bed – so falling in a deep slumber in a public place was something I was never going to achieve. And I didn't trust the people around me enough to become totally unconscious in their presence… even if it was only a classroom._

_When the bell rang I opened my eyes and grabbed my heavy books in my left arm and slung my bag on my right shoulder. I hadn't even taken a notebook or a pen out for this class. It was the epitome of futility. I was walking towards the door when the goggles guy tapped me on the shoulder. He was smiling and frowning at the same time. I guessed it was his trademark expression. I liked it._

"_Need help with your next class, Snow?"_

_I looked up at his sparkling green eyes. "How do you know my name?" I asked, alarmed. I never told it to him in person._

_He blinked down at me. "Hall said it when he asked you to sit down." He made no allusion to the fact that I was caught staring at him by the professor. I felt my cheeks redden. So he _did_ hear what happened. God, could I be more of a joke?_

"_Oh. My name's Evie." I stated dumbly. I hated when people called me Snow. It was a constant reminder. A reminder I could definitely live without. _

"_I like Snow better." The boy said, pointing at my books and extending his arm out. I grinned at him out of pure gratitude and gave him a third of my load. He snorted and took what I offered him along with the two other thirds that I kept for myself. I opened my mouth in protest but he waved it aside with his free hand. "I'm happy to help. We should find your locker and put these bad boys in." He patted them affectionately._

_I didn't know what to say. He was such a weird guy. One moment he would shower me with kindness and the next, it was as if I didn't exist. What was up with that?_

"_I'd prefer if you called me Evie, please." I told him quietly as we made our way out together._

_The boy nodded understandingly. "Sure. I just thought since it was snowing, it'd be amusing." His face wore a sheepish expression. "I guess I was wrong."_

_I chose not to say anything, I was just happy he was carrying my books for me._

_We walked in silence for a few moments. I didn't mind the lack of conversation._

_But _he_ seemed to. _

_Goodness, he couldn't last three minutes without speaking up, that boy._

"_Wow. You're making it difficult for me to socialize with you…" He joked. I smiled, but still, I didn't mention a word. "Oh. By the way." He piped up. He extended his free hand out in front of me. "My name's Matt Jazz. It's a pleasure to meet you, Evie." He smiled brightly as I shook his hand._

_He was bubbly._

_It was refreshing._

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**Hello everyone! I've been working on it for sometime, and I'm proud to present _Caldwell's Eyes_. It's majorly AU, and it contains a couple of original characters but I assure you that it has _everything_ to do with Death Notes. So don't you little chums worry about that! I will tell you in advance that Light Yagami will feature very briefly in this story. This does not revolve around him but don't worry, I am currently outlining a possible sequel which will take place in Japan during the Kira period, so yeah!**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter. I know I've had immense pleasure in writing it! Keep an eye out for chapter two, it'll take us to modern time Evie (ooh, exciting).**

**Thanks for reading guys!**


	3. Two: Clumsy Hybrid

**Two: Clumsy Hybrid**

"SNOW."

Huh?

I looked up in alarm and cried out "What?"

Oh my God, what did I do this time? Could I not spend a single _second_ in this damned class without getting picked on?

Hall threw me an angry look, as the rest of the class stared in my direction, and said, "Put that book away or I'll be forced to take it to the headmaster. _Again_."

I rolled my eyes.

Oh Hall… oh _you_!

Don't make me laugh!

Have you not noticed that your little petty threats have _no _effect on me _whatsoever_? YOU DON'T FAZE ME MISTER. I was about to waggle my index finger up at him, but realized that I was definitely pushing my luck by doing that. He would have snapped it right off.

Instead, I decided to retaliate in a more discreet manner.

"It's a sketchbook." I pointed out to him. I opened it quickly to show him some of the sketches I'd done in his class to prove my point. "See?" I flicked through the pages as if I was illustrating an important point. Hall's nostrils flared up suddenly and I quickly added, "Okay, okay. Storing it away now."

I made a big show of putting it back into my bag until he turned his back on me. I then quickly took it back out again.

Yeah, right.

As if I was going to listen to what that big jerk had to say.

I opened my sketchbook again, sliding it discreetly under my English notes as I lightly sucked the tip of my pencil. Concentrating on a drawing was extremely difficult when you were always trying to hide what you were doing from the papoose of a professor that was lecturing away in front of you. My task was challenging. Very challenging.

And I had no clue how or even where to start.

Holy shizzle.

I was pathetic.

I wasn't sure if I was to do a rough sketch first... or just start with the eyes and follow up with the nose and so on… or just do weird geometrical shapes and just pray to God that something cool and artistic would soon appear out of nowhere. I tilted my head to the side and heaved a sigh. Hall glared at me for rudely interrupting something he was saying but I paid no attention to him. It wasn't like I was sighing at him but – of course – he didn't know that.

Howhale.

The bell was going to ring before I'd even get the chance to start.

Ugh… today was one of those days. I could feel it. No inspiration was hitting me at all.

How depressing.

I chose to start directly.

Here we go now… carefully…

…Slowly now – I didn't want to ruin it – ACK! NO! The nose looked horrible already. Dang it, where was my eraser when I needed one? I _knew_ I should've done a rough draft first.

…I was such a failure.

"Now, if you understand the full concept of Antigone and Creon's respective tragic flaws, we'll then move on to a debate you will be preparing for next week based on your opinion concerning who you think truly _is_ the protagonist of Sophocles' tragic play." Hall said. I had had him as a literature (and homeroom) teacher for two consecutive years and he still hadn't managed to give us a challenging assignment. All of these were a piece of cake.

Well.

I thought so anyway.

Others probably disagreed.

…But they weren't really very bright at times.

His announcement was closely followed by a bunch of groans emitted by the major population of the class. I smiled to myself for I secretly liked the assignment he gave out. It was an easy one and I had a feeling I'd be done with it before we even left homeroom this morning. I took out a clean sheet of paper and started jotting down my main ideas and arguments. It took me about half an hour to completely finish the assignment and I was happy with my work. Of course, I sided with Creon on this one. It was always much more fun to choose the difficult side. I was satisfied with the fact that I'd finished something that would've taken weeks to do for the other students in my class.

I looked out the window to my left and started daydreaming. This class could be so incredibly boring at times. I usually enjoyed it, but today Hall took a particular liking to repeating the same dumb stuff by using different words every time. I guessed he had nothing else better to do. It was getting on my nerves.

It was slightly windy outside and the leaves were starting to fall. I could see one of the school janitors raking up a few dead leaves in front of the building and he was whistling a little. I couldn't make out the tune so I tried listening in more. Since I was sitting by the window it was easy for me to peer out and spy on him. I had nothing else better to do anyway. I checked on Hall and saw that he was busy writing on the blackboard.

Soon enough, I recognized what the janitor was whistling.

It was Mozart's Violin Concerto n°3. It was a soothing movement and I often listened to it on my iTunes library back home. I stared at him and smiled at the fact that one of our school janitors, out of all the people here, was whistling Mozart to himself as he swept the school grounds clean.

I couldn't see his face but his posture hinted at old age. He was hunched over and I felt bad that a senior citizen with a bad back still had to work for a living. He was wearing a navy blue baseball cap that matched his dirty overalls. He turned around to sweep another part of the courtyard and faced our side of the building. Suddenly he came to an abrupt halt and looked up. His whole facial features were hidden by the shade of his baseball cap and even though I couldn't see his face I had an odd, unsettling feeling that he was staring up at me. I wasn't completely sure about it but—

"Miss Snow, unless you haven't noticed, the class is taking place this way." My eyes widened and my head snapped back into place, facing the blackboard. Hall was glaring at me and the rest of the class was sending me bored looks. "My, my, first some shameless doodling and then unrespectable behavior. Detention for you Miss Snow."

I stared at him.

"They're not doodles!" I protested.

Doodling?

He called MY artwork DOODLING?

I glanced back outside.

The janitor was gone.

I refocused my attention on my current situation.

This was ridiculous! Since when does someone get detention for looking out the window?

I didn't even care about detention but my drawings were important to me and I was offended that he would even call my sketches, doodles. I glared at him and made a mental note to myself to be the biggest pain in the ass to him as possible. He'd earned it. Plus, he had a huge bogey in his right nostril today and every time he raised his voice at me, and his breathing got louder, the bogey would flap out then back in again. It was disturbing.

Hall seemed even more furious.

"Detention today _and_ tomorrow." Flap out. Flap in. Flap-out-flap-in-flap-out-flap-in. In and out. In and out. In-and-out-in-and-out-in-and-out.

OH MY GOD, it was SO disgusting.

The bell rang and I heaved a sigh. I had one more class to go after this. I was almost done with today.

After making my way out of the classroom, I trudged down the stairs and along corridors towards the internal courtyard of the school. It was shaped in a rectangle and was enclosed by a nice one-side arched arcade that ran along the walls. It was a nice Romanesque cloister and it reminded me of a monastery. All the lockers were found in the arcade and I walked slowly up to mine. The cold autumn air made my fingers cold and I blew on them, trying to warm them up. The cold breeze was making my hair all messy.

I liked this kind of weather. It was one of my favorites.

I trudged towards my locker and made my code: 86 (year of birth), 16 (my age) and 19 (age I'd like to be). I raised an eyebrow and took a step back as a yellow piece of notebook paper fell out. I bent over and picked it up quickly before the breeze could blow it away and I unfolded it.

'_Got detention again ... I'm guessing I'll be spending it with you. x'_

Because I didn't own a cell phone (I couldn't afford one), he always wrote me little notes to communicate. He knew I loved it. I smiled to myself as I threw the piece of paper in the bin nearby. He knew I'd gotten detention yesterday and the day before for insolent behavior. The prospect of sitting in a dull room for two hours this evening seemed less painful with the notion that he'd be there.

I grabbed my textbook for my next class and closed my locker shut just to find the boy in question leaning lazily against the locker neighboring mind. My hand flew to my chest as I gasped.

Goodness gracious!

He definitely had to quit that.

I shoved him aside. "Not amused, Matt."

He chuckled. The quick shove didn't seem to have hurt him, or fazed him in the slightest. Damn.

He was insufferable.

"I got your note." I informed him.

Matt didn't seem impressed. "Yeah. I saw you threw it in the bin. Thanks for that. As your boyfriend, I sure feel loved." He brought his hand to his chest out of mockery and faked a pout.

I leaned in towards him and quickly pecked him on the lips to make up for it. I could taste the nicotine on his mouth and I grimaced. Matt had stopped smoking in my presence because he knew it bothered me but had made it a habit to catch up on the tobacco as much as possible when he was out of my sight.

"You need to stop smoking." I complained. I made another face and pinched my nose to portray my disgust. He ignored me.

"Didn't bother me two years ago… doesn't bother me now."

"What do you want?" I moaned. I started walking towards my next class and he followed me. He had a free period. He folded his arms across his chest loosely and pursed his lips as we walked side by side. As much as I liked Matt, he could be very confusing and mysterious. He knew we were spending detention together so why did he need to see me now? He had a free period right now and he was too busy wasting it on school grounds?

His green eyes took on a serious look. "I just wanted to remind you that we had planned a study session for tonight."

Oh. That's why.

I stared at him.

He stared back. Reproachfully.

I blinked.

A study session.

He was kidding me… right?

This had to be a joke. I had two hours of detention tonight, when did we even _speak_ about a study session? I did _not_ need this type of thing right now.

I voiced these exact thoughts out loud.

Matt just shook his head.

"You told me you were stuck on molecular science a week ago. You told me you needed my help. Because I'm so smart." He wore a smug expression and I smacked him on the back of the head. He glared at me. "Great going with earning yourself detention again–" I opened my mouth in protest but he didn't let me speak, "—and yes, I heard." He tut-tutted. "Third time in two days. I'm sure that's a new record for you."

I scowled and he pouted in retaliation.

"Thanks for the reminder. I truly needed that." Life was such a bitch. What did I do to even deserve such punishment? This was not fair, I did nothing wrong! It's not like I was smoking pot in the hallways after school hours. God had a funny way in showing me his affection. I mean… I always ate my vegetables (well… on the rare occasions I had food in the fridge), I was nice to people (most of the time), and I did my homework (on certain occasions). It was unfair.

Matt seemed to notice my frustration and laughed slightly before ruffling up my hair. He then put his arm over my shoulders and brought me close to him. I could smell the same woody scent I'd smelled the last couple of years and it made me smile. By now I was addicted to his pheromones like crazy. I had never found anybody else who had a better scent.

"Aw, Evie. Lighten up." He nudged me on the side and wiggled his eyebrows. I let go of him and walked faster. I was trying to lose him.

"Go away. You're annoying me."

Matt quickened his pace to equal mine and by the time he had caught up with me I spotted a smirk on his face. He thoroughly enjoyed giving me a hard time, that wanker. I guess my plan to try and lose him by walking fast was an ultimate failure. He had been blessed with longer (and surely more muscled legs) than I had. He was lucky—

Wait. Did I just say his legs were muscled? Oh my God, what was wrong with me? I take that back. No seriously, I didn't mean t—

"Did you just compliment my toned legs?" he asked me, amused. I gasped loudly, absolutely horrified at the fact that I had spoken out loud. It was one of my most annoying traits but I couldn't help it.

"N—No." I stammered, before looking at my feet and walking straight ahead.

Sure ... because a stammer is totally convincing, Eve. Really.

At least I wasn't blushing. Oh goodness, that would've been the end of me.

Matt had caught up with me and had bent down to get a glimpse of me. I let a screen of my hair fall down the side of my face to veil it from his vision. It was no use.

"Evie, you're so cute when your cheeks go all red on me."

AAAAAH!

Great.

Just great.

Oh my dog. Could this get even more mortifying?

I was praying to God to make him go away. It was bad enough having him flaunting his sexiness at me and now I had t—

"You think I'm sexy?"

ACK!

Why on Earth am I still talking out loud?

Was there any medication I could take against it? It was going to _ruin_ me!

"NO! Ew. Piss off."

Stay cool Evie. Remain calm.

"You did."

"No. I didn't."

Yeah. I did. I totally did.

I was never going to admit it out loud though.

His eyes shone amusedly down at me. "It's fine you know. We both know that I am quite physically attractive." He wiped some imaginary dust off his shoulders as a joke. "And… I _am_ your boyfriend after all. It's only normal that you'd find me sexy."

Wow. Try and act more conceited Matt. Seriously.

"Are we done? Because I'm going to be late." I said.

That was a lie.

I was already fucking late.

Matt rolled his eyes at me. He obviously already knew that I had gone passed the 'going to be late' stage. I scowled at him. "As if being late ever bothered you."

I kept quiet at that.

He had a point.

…Crumb.

"Don't you have something better to do? Like playing video games?" I asked desperately, knowing very well that it was the worst retaliation I had come up with all day. Matt glowered at me and stuck a cigarette in his mouth. He lit it up quickly and took a drag out of it. I masked my surprised. I couldn't remember the last time he smoked in front of me. It was a long time ago. He cocked his head to the side at me and blew the smoke sideways, away from my face. He gave me a look that said, 'As if'.

I chose to interpret it as a 'So what?' look.

"That's what I thought." I told him and I waved him off. "Saunter along now, young child."

"You're funny." Is all he said; he then took another puff.

"You're going to get in trouble for that." I pointed out. We were on school grounds; not that he cared. The main reason he always ended up in detention with me was because he smoked in school all the time. He blew a cloud of smoke in my face and I hopped away.

"Oh Matt… bugger off!" I shrieked. I tried running away but he grabbed me by the arm.

"See you in detention, love." He smacked his lips on mine theatrically. I relaxed in his arms a little and pulled away first. The smell of nicotine really _was_ too strong. I hated it.

Matt stuck his cigarette back in his mouth, turned on his heel and calmly walked out towards the main entrance. He was probably going to finish his cigarette in the school's parking lot before wandering off to God knows where. I caught a few girls watching him go and whispering to each other. Matt passed his hand through his hair and ruffled it up slowly again. One of the girls sighed woefully.

He didn't even notice them.

—CE—

"Ms. Snow. Have you any notion of the time?"

No. But I do know you've got an extremely BIG stick up your ass.

I glanced up from my sketchbook that I was busy taking out from my bag and looked at Mr. Lowe. He was glaring down at me and I guess it was probably because I got in class late and sat down without muttering a single apology. I thought that if I'd just gone to my seat without interrupting him with useless excuses he would get me off the hook.

Apparently not.

He was such a prat.

"Um…" I glanced down at my watch, noticing for the first time how late I actually was. It was twenty past five and class started at five. Matt owed me big time. "My watch says five to five." I said lamely. It seemed to amuse some of my classmates because they genuinely laughed. I ignored them and observed Lowe's reaction. I could see his jaw click and knew that this was not going in the right direction at all.

"Is that so?" he said in a drawl. "Because strangely enough, mine reads twenty _past_ five."

I pressed my lips together and shrugged. I cut eye contact and looked back down at my bag to remove the rest of my things. I then looked up again and still found him glaring at me. He was so stupid. He could just continue the class and stop wasting so much time.

"Oh." I added, hoping he understood that as his cue.

His expression didn't change.

His jaw kept clicking though. It was annoying.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

He was like a bomb ready to explode at any time.

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Fucking click. Click.

"So this means?"

Click. Click.

Why was he playing this game? For God's sake!

Click.

I smiled innocently.

"This means you might want to get a new watch?"

CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.

I vein was popping out on his right temple.

Uh oh.

Wrong answer, Eve.

I blinked.

He glowered at me.

I blinked again.

"Get out!"

I groaned.

"Mr. Lowe—"

"Out Ms. Snow! Right now!"

I grabbed my things again and got up.

"This is completely unnecessary—" I tried.

Lowe interrupted me by saying, "No, having _you_ in my class is completely unnecessary! Now get out!" I scowled at him. "Oh, and you get detention tonight. And, to make thinks more interesting, you'll write a two thousand-word essay on the acceleration of atoms by a linear accelerator including diagrams and drawings explaining your arguments and points. Enjoy." He added a dry laugh and gave me the dreaded pink slip of paper as I got out of my seat.

I saluted him with two fingers to the forehead and saluted the class dismally as well. A few of them clapped because they saw me collect two detentions in a row today. I didn't know if that was something I was supposed to be proud of but I was glad they seemed to find this entertaining. At least I wasn't majorly embarrassing myself like I often did. I looked down at the pink paper I was holding in my hand.

I almost sprinted out of the classroom when I sensed Lowe was going to start yelling at me again and shut the classroom door behind me when I was safely outside in the hallway. I looked down at the paper I had in my hand. This definitely meant I was going to see the good old headmaster.

Over the years I'd been in this school, I had started to get along with him. At first I hated his guts; he was cold, he didn't care what he said about people and whether it would hurt someone's feelings or not… and he was incredibly rude. But at the same time, he ran this school well, he was firm and people respected him, not to mention that this place had a very good reputation thanks to him.

I didn't mind him too much in the end.

I knocked on the signature big old oak doors and he coughed.

"Enter."

I came in quietly and plopped down on the same old uncomfortable purple seat I'd been sitting these past two years.

"I got detention again." I moaned. He was sorting out something on his computer. He didn't seem too absorbed by his work. He took his glasses off and looked at me with an expressionless face.

"That's surprising." He leaned back in his chair and cleared his throat. "Actually, Evie, I'm glad you came in today."

Okay, you might as well say you just don't give a flying fuck about my numerous (not to mention completely unfair) punishments.

I raised my eyebrows.

I didn't technically _choose_ to come in here but I didn't point that out.

"Why?"

"Your behavior has become a point of concern lately."

Behavior?

"Huh?" I asked him rudely.

"Teachers have been complaining about you." I opened my mouth to retaliate but he interrupted me. "You're always late, you draw in class, you _answer _back to teachers…" I scowled. "And I _know_ that you're different than most students here but that doesn't mean you get special treatment from the rest."

Okay, I hadn't even been _asking_ for special treatment! This was a load of bull!

And it's not like anyone would give me some either, even if I asked. The major population of staff in this school hated my guts.

Come on.

"I never asked for one!" I cried out, leaning towards his desk. The headmaster remained unfazed. "You're the one going all ga-ga over my past! It's not a big deal. Just let it go."

If only I could take my own advice.

The headmaster seemed to think so too but chose not to say anything. Instead, he crossed his arms. "You're a great student. You've got so much potential." I rolled my eyes. I wasn't spectacular. I don't know why he kept bringing that up.

And… well, with all due respect sir, molecular science didn't seem to agree with me.

"Look, I have detention. So I've got to go."

It was the only think I could come up with.

"What did you do this time?" he asked me in sheer desperation as I got up and handed him the slip of paper. He signed it and gave it back to me.

"Tardy." I said.

He threw his hands up in the air. "That's it. I'm calling your parents." He declared, grabbing the phone.

"They're dead." I deadpanned.

He looked up from the number he was dialing. "You know very well what I meant."

True.

"Whatever." I remarked. "Later!" I wove but he was already dialing another number on his office phone. I shook my head at him. As much as I disliked talking to the guy, I still appreciated him as a person. He really did try. He was doing a lot as headmaster of this school and that definitely did not go by unnoticed by the staff and the students.

I made my way towards the door and swung it open.

It felt heavier then usual and I frowned.

Until, that is, someone fell back against me.

He groaned.

I yelped and let go of my bag.

And we crashed down to the floor together.

…Luckily for the person, I had broken his fall.

With my whole body.

I groaned loudly.

… WHAT A JERK.

WHO THE FUCK WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO LEAN BACK AGAINST A DOOR?

"Ow." I stated dumbly. I blinked but my vision was blurry. I knew what had just happened but that didn't stop me from feeling surprised. The guy on top of me didn't seem to be hurt, let alone care that I was in pain and practically dying under him. Thank goodness he didn't weigh that much. If he had been a rugby guy playing for the school's first team I would've died on the spot. "You know, you can get off me now." I mumbled. I made an attempt to wriggle myself free but a sharp pain in my lower back made me yelp again.

I heard the headmaster behind me chuckle. He didn't even bother coming to my rescue – he was still talking to someone on the phone.

Thanks, pal. I sure appreciated it.

I felt the guy stand up and I sat up shortly after him. I rubbed the back of my head and glared up at him. He offered me his hand and I took it as he lifted me up.

… Good God. I didn't think he was that strong. He didn't seem to have any muscles.

He was definitely leaner than I had initially thought.

But seriously—

Back to the subject.

Who would even _lean _on a door? Who was stupid enough to even _do _that kind of thing?

Well. Actually, the answer to my question was standing in front of me in the shape of an odd looking guy. His two large, black, empty eyes stared at me, expressionless. They were kind of scary gigantic eyes – eyes that bore into mine so intensely. I had the feeling they could pierce right through my irises and see through me. They looked extremely powerful and intimidating yet at the same time they seemed… lifeless.

The boy stared at me.

And stared.

And stared.

And – yup, you guessed it – stared some more.

I took a step back. His deep dark orbs incessantly observed me, as if analyzing every single detail there was to analyze about me. It was a very unsettling feeling and I was very close to just walking away and leaving him behind me. I took another step back and crossed my arms over my chest instead. He was severely hunching over and I wondered if he'd developed scoliosis when he was a child. After all, it often occurred amongst tall people. His arched posture was a serious turn off but I was surprised to see that he still managed to be approximately my height. I was about a hundred and seventy centimeters tall. This meant that he was much taller than me if he straightened up. Approximately ten centimeters more, I figured.

I wondered why his shoulders were so curved.

I returned my attention to his eyes. They were still scrutinizing me.

I'd had it.

"Is staring your way of apologizing?" I told him rudely. I was pissed. He was stupid enough to lean on the door and now he was staring at me without even muttering a simple 'sorry'. Who did this guy think he was?

He didn't break his gaze and answered in a simple tone.

"I beg your forgiveness."

His voice was quiet but deep. It was slightly husky and I liked it.

I blinked.

…

… No. I couldn't think about stupid things like his voice. Even if it _was_ sexy.

…

Ugh, Evie! Get a grip!

I gawked at him. He was being impossible.

"Yeah?" I glared at him but his face remained emotionless. I could tell it was something he was used to doing. "Well, try not to lean on a door next time."

Idiot.

"Again, forgive me." He didn't sound the slightest bit sorry. And he knew I had sensed it.

He was doing it again. That sultry, deep voice of his was having an effect on me.

He looked young; young enough to be a part of this school. But his voice sounded so much older… so manly I felt drawn to him. I tried imagining him saying my name with that husky, quiet voice of his and I internally sighed.

God that was hot.

…

I blinked.

WAH.

EVIE, YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND.

…What was wrong with me? How could someone's voice turn me on so much?

I mean – he wasn't even _that_ good-looking! His dark black hair was really quite disheveled and—

Oh. There he was just ruffling it up again. God, he made it stick out in various places. Wow, he looked way better now.

…

EVIE SNAP OUT OF IT.

I had to get out of here.

I waited for him to step aside so I could walk out of here but he didn't budge. He just continued staring at me. I didn't understand why he was so fascinated by the way I looked. Last time I checked, I was only wearing jeans and an old wooly cardigan. I knew my dark brown hair was out of place, but I didn't think I looked particularly horrid. He made me feel a little self-conscious. It was as if he was looking at me completely nude.

The more the minutes passed by the more I found him handsome. And the more I felt self-conscious.

I had to leave.

"Look, do you mind? I have to be somewhere." I told him.

Lie.

I still had thirty minutes before detention.

He nodded curtly and brought his thumb to his mouth. He took a step sideways and extended his arm towards the doorway. "Of course. Please."

He was very poised and executed his movements with care and precision. I wasn't very used to seeing someone so intricately careful with his own body language and I was fascinated by how delicate his fingers looked. His index finger pointed gently towards the exit while the thumb from his other hand was slowly touching his lower lip.

He was so intriguing.

I pressed my lips in the form of a slight smile and made my way past him. Even with my back to him I could feel him staring at me. I barely made a few steps away from the office when he called out for me.

"Oh! Excuse me? Miss!"

Oh my God! That voice! It made my limbs melt and I felt something unknown tug at he bottom of my stomach. I ignored him and walked on. Part of me didn't want to talk to him anymore because he was a creep. The other part—

Well.

The other part of me wanted him to call out again so I could hear his resonantly low voice again. I know… I was a pathetic human being. But really – if you had heard his voice, you would've loved it too. It was the kind that sent reverberating shivers down your spine because it sounded so good to your ears. It was the sort of voice you'd love to hear in an intimate conversation – a voice only you could hear. A voice that screamed sex.

I continued walking away and prayed to God he'd speak up again.

"Miss!"

BINGO.

The sound of his voice was pure love to my ears but I knew there was no way I was going to _intentionally_ walk back there and talk to that weirdo.

"Miss! You forgot your bag!" he called out again.

I froze.

_Shit._

I gradually turned around to face him again. He had picked up my bag with his thumb and index finger delicately. His way of holding objects intrigued me but my attention focused itself on the long strap that was dangling dangerously close to his feet. I hated the backpacks nerdy girls wore but I despised the girly designer handbags even more. The only proper bag I ever liked was a big, light-brown satchel with a single strap that Mona had given me when I started school here two years ago. He hurried his steps towards me, extending his arm out to hand me my bag back.

I had to admit it. I was relieved to see that he was honest enough to give me back my schoolbag. He could've totally just taken it for himself and stolen the contents. But he didn't. I opened my mouth to thank him when I noticed his feet accidentally getting tangled up in my bag's long strap. My mouth opened in horror. "Oi!" I shouted. "Watch out—!"

…Oh no.

It was too late.

His right foot got caught in the strap and, as if in slow motion, he stumbled forward slightly… and fell straight forward.

He hit the floor with a resounding thud.

—CE—

"Oh my God." I tried fighting back my laughter. "A-Are you okay?" I asked from afar. I stifled another giggle. I couldn't help but find this situation amusing. The cloud of dust that had appeared after his collision with the floor was starting to dissipate. The guy with the big black eyes hadn't moved. I sincerely hoped he was okay, but his fall was just so funny. How stupid was this guy?

Wait, wait, wait… hold up a minute.

Recap.

1. He leant against a door – knowing fully well that it _was_, in fact, a door – and fell back into me by accident as I opened it.

2. He tried to give me my bag back but tripped over the strap.

Conlusion?

This guy was a moron.

I cautiously walked towards him. He had fallen forward on his stomach and he was now lying spread-eagled on the floor. His left hand twitched a little bit but asides from that he remained motionless. I bit my bottom lip out of worry.

I then squatted down next to him and stared at the back of his head.

Still nothing.

"Hello?"

Silence.

Oh no, I didn't want to be the one that'd have to check a pulse.

I looked around me and sighed.

…Of course.

Where was a busy corridor when I needed one?

I SO didn't have time to deal with an injured guy…

I poked him.

Maybe he was unconscious. I doubt he was dead.

But, oh Lord, _that_ would be awkward if he wasn't alive anymore. How would I explain this to the cops?

'_Yeah. He tripped over my bag and died.'_

God, that would be embarrassing…

I cautiously poked his shoulder one more time.

…

Nothing.

I poked again.

…

Still nothing.

I walked sideways like a crab towards his other shoulder and attempted to poke him again.

Again, nothing.

Poke.

A groan.

I blinked.

…

YES! A groan! He was reacting!

"Oi!" I cried out. I went for the double poke combo.

Poke. Poke.

Another groan.

It was shortly followed by a very pained, "Ow."

I rolled my eyes and blew out a sigh of relief.

"You alright?"

The boy just groaned in response.

He then looked up slightly and glanced up at me. The expression in his eyes hadn't changed from before, but this time I had managed to get a good glimpse of his face and realized that his eyes weren't actually completely black. They were gray; but a dark and shady sort of gray. His pupils were huge and they widened slightly as they took in my appearance at the same precise moment I was taking in his. I could see he was analyzing every single detail of my face again. I didn't back down; his face was just as intriguing to me and I wanted to know more. I could easily get lost in them. They were absorbing me… hypnotizing me… I didn't even know if he was doing it on purpose.

…I doubted it.

He blinked at me.

I blinked back, confused.

It was only that we both realized at the same time how close our faces were to each other. Mere inches separated our noses.

I crab-like wobbled away as far as possible.

I then realized how stupid I must've looked and I immediately stood back up. After quickly regaining my composure, I took a few steps towards him again and extended my hand out to him.

"Uh… um. Here. Let me help you out." It was only fair. He had offered me his hand when I was on the floor. I was doing the same.

However, the boy shook his head at me and pushed himself off the floor with both his hands. He dusted off the dirt from the front of his long-sleeved white shirt and his blue jeans. He flapped his shirt up and down to get a little more dirt off and I couldn't help sneaking a peak at his lower abdomen. His jeans were hanging nicely on his hips (just the way I liked it on guys) and he was – much to my surprise – fairly muscular. I quickly looked away when I sensed he was done. His baggy clothes concealed the leanness of his body very efficiently. His appearance was misleading to say the least.

I pushed aside the fact that he diligently refused my help. Perhaps he was one of those guys who hated to be helped by a girl. I didn't really care, I just felt bad that he'd fallen twice, even if it was… hilariously funny. And mostly his fault.

"Are you alright?" I asked him again with a chuckle. Come on, the guy fell twice in a matter of minutes. It was hysterical. I kind of wanted to see him fall for a third time. It was more entertaining than detention that was for sure.

"Yes. I thank you."

I cocked my head to the side as he regained his usual posture.

"Are you new?" I asked him. Despite what had happened, the nice side of me took over. I couldn't help but feel curious. I'd never seen him in this school, and I would've definitely noticed him before. I didn't know what pushed me to question him about that. I just wanted to know more about him.

He pointed to the headmaster's office just behind.

"I came to discuss a few matters with the school headmaster. Is he very busy at the moment?" his voice was so pleasant to listen to. It didn't suit his face at all, but then again, his appearance looked incongruous with his surroundings. He stood out like an elephant in a herd of zebras. And he didn't look any better than one either.

Messy hair. A plain white shirt. Baggy blue jeans. And – I glanced down at his feet – gray sneakers with untied shoelaces.

He was already pretty accident-prone and here he was walking around with his laces untied. Could he be missing any more common sense?

Everything about him screamed careless.

Oh and I could tell he was a pretty light-sleeper. Either that or he suffered from insomnia…

The bags under his dark eyes were the size of China.

I didn't mention the fact that he had sidestepped my question. I wasn't stupid.

I merely shrugged. I didn't particularly like the fact that he didn't simply answer me but I didn't make a big deal about it.

It was funny how only minutes ago I wanted to get the hell out of his sight as much as possible… and now? Now, I wanted to talk to him. The fact that he hadn't answered my first question made me curious. I wanted to know who he was.

I used to hate people who'd asked me if I was new to this school. Did I want to socialize with him this much? Would I go so far as to become some hypocritical bitch that was becoming someone I used to criticize? Something was wrong with me.

"I don't think so." I said. I quickly realized my mistake; I shouldn't have said that. I really wanted to talk to him. Now he was going to leave and our conversation would be over. I backtracked as fast as I could. "B-But maybe you should wait a little – he was about to make a phone call when I left."

Great. Well done. I'm sure you totally sounded desperate there, Evie.

I didn't know what was it about him that made me want to know him. Having a conversation with him wasn't easy and he wasn't the most interesting guy in the world. However, he didn't look like any of the people that went to this school and… II wasn't used to someone like him either. People usually came to talk to me and I was the one who'd push them away. The tables had totally turned here and I didn't really know what to do… What was it about him that triggered something in me?

I didn't like this sudden abrupt change in me. I hated it. I knew it made me sound like a conceited old bat.

Yet… there was something about him that I liked.

"That's a very nice locket." He suddenly pointed out, bending over slightly and examining it more closely. I hadn't realized we were standing so close to each other and his sudden proximity made me jolt. I was surprised. His statement seemed to come out of nowhere, too. My hand shot up instinctively and grabbed my locket protectively.

"Thank you." I frowned.

The boy nodded.

"May I ask you what is inside?" he continued to examine it quietly. I could see his eyes fleeting quickly over every single detail: from its oval shape to the intricate and delicate engravings upon its surface. His sudden interest in my locket unsettled me. I wasn't expecting this at all.

This intrusion of privacy was something that bothered me greatly but I didn't think he was aware of his own rudeness. He seemed generally curious. His wide eyes peered up at me and took in my perplexed expression.

"My apologies." He backed away. He stared at me once more before he softly declared, "I must go now." He turned his back on me and walked towards the headmaster's oak doors. He turned around. "Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience I have caused you."

I was about to say it was okay but no words came out of my mouth. I just stood there.

He gave me a curt nod before gently knocking on the doors with his delicate fingers and taking a step inside at the sound of the headmaster's voice.

I stared at him until he completely disappeared behind the giant oak doors.

It was by the time I had turned on my heel to go to detention that I realized I didn't even bother asking him his name.

—CE—

I don't know how I did it but I had managed to be late for detention.

Again.

I stumbled towards the all-too-famous door and flung it open, breathless, with my hair flailing all over the place. If I could get detention because I was _late_ for detention… then I would never go home. I'd just sleep at school. The monitor peered at me from behind her book but didn't say anything. She was a fat old hag that just sat in that chair all day and munched on Mars bars. I had seen her way to many times since I had arrived in this school. Her name was Peach.

…Yeah – like that stupid princess in Super Mario.

She waited for me to give her my pink slip and resumed reading _Getting A Job For Dummies_.

I guess she didn't feel fulfilled as a class monitor.

No surprises there.

I glanced at the people in detention today. There were more than I had expected and I quickly skimmed through the faces, searching for Matt.

Where was he?

I knew he was here somewhere.

I searched the back of the class and my light gray eyes finally met his bright emerald ones. I made my way towards him, beaming. After this whole tiring day I was happy to find myself in his company again. I sighed in relief and sat down at the desk nearest to his.

"Hey beautiful." He acquiesced with a smile.

I grinned back.

"I thought you wouldn't be here." I whispered back, getting my sketchbook out. The monitor couldn't see us because we were so far back. Besides, she was too busy reading about writing CVs and how to not fail at life (although, I was pretty sure it was too late for that) to even notice we were talking.

He scoffed lightly.

"Watch your eyesight." He warned mockingly. "You might need some of these." He informed me as he tapped on his goggles that were on his head. I laughed but immediately turned quiet as I saw the monitor peer suspiciously at us over the rim of her book.

I then ripped out a whole page of my notebook and gave him one before ripping out one of my own.

"Battleships?" I breathed. Screw that stupid atoms essay, I'd do it later.

He grinned.

"Bring it on, bitch."

Two hours later, and I was proud to announce that—

— I had lost battleships.

Anyway, it was a given. I could never win against Matt. Knowing him he probably played battleships not only on paper but also on play stations, gameboys, computers and whatever other electronic thingamajigs were out there. The only way I could possibly win against him was if I had cheated.

(Which I tried.)

(But that failed… again.)

"I saw a weird-looking guy today." I said, as we strolled out of school grounds. Matt and I always walked home together. We both lived on the suburbs of Winchester, down the same road; he lived about a mile away from my home. I'd never been to his place – mainly because I was too lazy to walk all the way and also because he'd never invited me over. I didn't particularly care. My foster parents were never home. They never took a liking to me and instead chose to travel all over the world. They were a rich couple of bastards and took pity on me so kept me with them. I was lonely in the big old house so Matt often graced me with his company.

He currently seemed to be engrossed by a text message he'd just received on his cell phone but listened to me anyway. He was multifunctional… unlike other guys. It was one of the many things I liked about him. He always devoted at least half of his attention span to someone who happened to be talking to him while he was busy doing something else.

"I thought all guys looked weird to you." He merely mumbled, his fingers flying at full tilt over his phone's keyboard. I rolled my eyes at his obsession over high-tech machinery and looked at my feet. He had a point. The mere fact that I was dating someone with _that_ kind of appearance only mirrored my strange taste in men.

I was going to retaliate with that comeback, but then thought against it. Matt was already fully aware of what most people said about his negligible physical aspect. I, on the contrary, loved his peculiar touch with the white rimmed, yellow-tinted goggles and striped shirts. He was different from the rest.

I saw him click send, put his phone in his front pocket and then, out of nowhere, he outstretched his arms wide open and looked around proudly.

I stared.

What the fuck was he doing?

He really _was_ very eccentric at times.

Matt lowered his arms slowly back down and slid his hands in the back pockets of his jeans.

I knew better than to ask him what _that _whole show was about. I had given up with his oddities.

"So…" he droned. "What _about_ this guy?" he focused his whole attention on me now.

I shrugged.

"I don't know… he intrigues me."

Matt gasped in horror and his right hand flew to his face.

"Oh my God! Evie? Intrigued by a guy? _Never_!"

I playfully shoved him to the side and he took that as an opportunity to grab my arm and entwine it with his. It was a cute habit of his that he did since the first day we met two years ago. He knew I liked it and he pressed his lips to my hair slightly as I rested my head against his shoulder. I yawned.

I was totally beat.

Matt, being the usual chatterbox that he was, didn't take this as a hint and broke the silence. Like he so often did.

Damn him.

"_I_ intrigued you… did I not?" he spoke softly, his words slightly muffled by my hair.

I pretended to think about it (when really, all I could think about was falling asleep in my bed) and shook my head.

"Nope." I lied.

I felt him pull away slightly and I looked up. His green eyes were looking down at me as if I had just said something ludicrous. I gave him an innocent look but I knew it was a lost cause. Over the years, Matt had come to understand where I came from and who I was starting to become. He understood me better than anyone else I knew, and he could easily read me like an open book. I couldn't hide anything from him.

Sometimes I found it comforting… knowing I had someone I could always count on; someone I could easily talk to. But sometimes, I felt I needed some personal space – and he would willingly give me that space I so often craved for – however… sometimes he still invaded it without even meaning to.

There were no barriers between Matt and me; whether I liked it or not.

My eyes probably told him everything because before I knew it, he lightly touched the tip of my nose with his finger in a playful manner. He gave it a quick peck and I closed one eye. He smiled at me and then glanced ahead with a smirk.

"I'm willing to bet I still intrigue you now…" he gloated.

I scoffed.

"In your dreams, Jazz." I drawled. My words were quickly followed by another yawn.

"You know it, Sn—Evie." He had corrected himself at the last minute.

We slowly arrived at the edge of town and we turned right before the beginning of the long stretch of water meadows that were key characteristics of Winchester's rural landscape. The meadows were a nice place for weekly meanders but were lately being visited by a fair amount of tourists who came to the city to visit the cathedral. We trudged slowly along the same dirt road we walked on everyday. It was a nice break from the buzzing of the roads and the louder chatter of the people. It had always been my favorite part of the walk I had to do twice a day.

Matt didn't like the silence that had settled between us and tried to start the conversation again.

This… was something I did _not_ like about him. He talked too much.

"So…" he tried. "What was so interesting about this guy in the first place? It has always been difficult getting your interest." He chuckled. "I'm one to know…" I wasn't sure if there was a hint of jealousy in his voice or not.

My eyes snapped up to his face and I smiled. It was true. I did give Matt a very tough time. I was never a very sociable person and those numerous times he had tried talking to me back during my first year at ISW were often in vain. I had no interest in talking or interacting with him whatsoever.

And now?

We were as close as ever.

It was funny how things turned out.

I had completely forgotten about panda boy until he had mentioned him again.

I solely shrugged.

The raven-haired guy was boring and void of conversation. It was ironic how I was the exact same kind of person yet I permitted myself to so openly criticize him. The only thing that intrigued me was his curious meeting with the principal, his appearance, and the way he spoke. His languid eloquence with words did not go unnoticed.

The dude was a living paradox. His looks screamed grungy teen while his speech yelled Oxford professor. I did not know which side to believe. I expressed all these thoughts out in detail to Matt.

He listened very carefully but did not say anything.

That was a first.

After a while, I spoke up. "What do you think?"

He squinted far ahead, as if examining the distant treetops in excruciating detail.

"You're right. He _is _a weirdo," was all he said.

I could tell he wanted to say something more and I waited.

Matt said nothing.

"Yeah?" I pressed.

Oh Lord, I was not a great conversationalist to begin with… did I really think I could squeeze more information like that? I mean, Matt was the most talkative person I knew. But if he didn't want to talk, there was no way in hell I could make him.

He was so confusing at times…

Then suddenly… it hit me.

He was jealous.

Matt didn't _like_ the fact that I was mentioning another guy! That was it! He knew me as Evie Snow, the girl who never showed a lot of interest in guys, and up until now, he had never felt threatened before. I mentally gushed at how cute he looked when he was secretly possessive of me and held onto his arm a little more tightly.

Of course… for his own pride – Matt would never mention how he truly felt.

God, I could be so daft at times!

"Was he good-looking?" he asked me, a couple of minutes later.

His interrogation only confirmed my doubts.

There was something I did very rarely in life and that was lying. Unless I knew the person knew I was lying… in that case, that would be considered just kidding around. I hated lying and I hated everything that it implied… betraying someone's trust and showing a side of you that no one ought to ever see. I had sworn to myself to never lie to the people that I cared about.

And right now? The people I cared about amounted to—

One person.

Matt.

I couldn't ruin that.

"Yeah." I admitted. Matt immediately raised his eyebrows and I was quick to add, "But not on a first glance. He looked really… _unclean_." I finished, with a lack of a better word. I shuddered and Matt laughed loudly at the way I had chosen to describe panda boy. "I mean, his _clothes_ – ew… Don't get me started on those. And his _hair_. Ugh. Goodness. I mean, his hair was jet black and it was really messy and it stuck out everywhere and it was shaggy but sort of—" I noticed I was starting to ramble and I stopped. Matt raised a single eyebrow, as if defying me to say more. "Well. On a first glance, he was well below average."

"…but on a second glance?" Matt inquired. I could tell he liked this conversation more and more. He had ceased to look at me in the eyes and had decided to focus his gaze straight ahead. He was smiling to himself, as if in on a personal joke and I could tell he was mocking me. It offended me a little because he was giving me the impression that he was sharing this joke with someone else and wasn't letting me in on it.

I felt like a child.

"On a second glance, he—" I stopped. My mouth closed up like that of a small goldfish. "…Why do you want to know?" I suddenly asked him, my eyes narrowing a little. After all, Matt _was _displaying more interest than I had first anticipated. I knew he was mocking me but I knew him well enough to know that he was also abnormally keen on knowing more about this guy.

He just shrugged, still cutting our eye contact.

"I'm assessing the situation."

I scoffed.

"What situation?"

Matt grinned down at me and I couldn't help savor his pearly whites with my eyes. He really had the most amazing smile. "Well… whether you're going to leave me and go for the guy. Duh."

He said it with such simplicity and naivety that I almost believed him.

I let go of his arm and crossed my arms over my chest.

I pouted.

"You're making fun of me and I don't like it."

There.

I'd said it.

I didn't care if I sounded like a spoilt brat. Matt was treating me like a four-year-old child. I guess all I had to do was act like one.

(It was flawed logic, I know.)

His cell pone beeped with another message and he whipped it out of his jeans pocket and took a look down at it. He typed away on his keyboard again and clicked the send button when he was done writing it.

"Did you _at least_ ask him for his phone number?" he asked me lazily. His phone beeped again after a couple of seconds and he refocused his attention down on the screen.

I gawked at him.

He was kidding… right?

He _had _to be kidding.

"No, of course not. Why would I?"

"You obviously like him."

WHAT?

"I-I do _not_!" I sputtered incredulously. I only hesitated because of the absurdity of Matt's words. "What makes you say that?" he was starting to tire me. I could see my house behind the trees and bushes up in the distance. The prospect of being home, in my bed, very soon rendered me joyous.

Matt balled his right hand into a fist and lightly hit his stomach twice.

"Male gut feeling."

I smacked him on his left arm. Hard.

He yelped.

"That's what you get for being stupid." I said.

Matt glared at me and rubbed his arm to make the pain go away.

I hadn't even hit him that hard. He was being a pussy.

"Aw, come on. I can totally tell you dig the guy!" he told me. Him chortling quietly to himself quickly followed his assertion. I gave him such an impassive look that he stopped immediately and fell silent.

"Never will I be attracted to a person who looks like a hybrid between a panda, a sloth and a human being while bearing a back bump that's twice the size of Kilimanjaro!" I cried out.

That shut him up for good.

He threw me an astounded look as we finally arrived in front of my front door. I got my keys out of my book and inserted them in the door. I invited him in but he refused.

I frowned.

It wasn't like him to do so. Usually he stayed with me for hours on end.

He probably knew what I was thinking about and quickly retrieved the subject of our previous conversation.

"All I'm saying is… who knows? Your very soul mate may have just slipped through your fingers." He whispered dramatically, before swinging his arms up in the air, almost hitting me in the eye. He was thoroughly enjoying taking the mickey out of me.

I ducked just in time and glared at him.

He then took a step forward and gave me a lingering kiss to make up for his idiocies.

"I'm just kidding with you Evie." He told me softly before kissing me again. I smiled as his lips touched mine gently. They felt really good and I relished in our close contact. "You crack me up when you get all worked up—" I shut him up by pulling him down to me for one last kiss. It was the only way I could show him how much he truly meant to me because my verbal abilities were so poor.

Matt opened his mouth slightly and I gently nipped his bottom lip. I was teasing him. Mainly because I knew he liked it when I did that. And secondly because he had had a smoke just after detention and I did not want the taste of nicotine to grace my lips like it so often did when I tongued it with him.

I pulled back before he could push his luck.

He rolled his eyes at me. He knew precisely why I was doing it and he accepted his punishment diligently like a faithful dog.

"Take care, Evie. Remember what I told you earlier today." He warned me before giving me a lopsided grin and sauntering off down the dirt road. I looked at him longingly before closing the door. I locked it and leant against it before heaving a sigh.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**Well there you have it. Chapter two is posted! I hope you guys enjoyed reading this.  
><strong>**You've now been introduced to a new character in the story, I don't really think I ought to dwell on this latest addition for too long seeing as all of you probably have a good idea of who it is. (And if not, may I ask you what you're even doing in the Death Note section!) Please feel free to tell me your impressions on him so far and why you guys think he's doing at Evie's school... **

**Matt and Evie's relationship is also quite a special one. I have shortly introduced it in this chapter but you will definitely see it more in the following next chapters. As you may have noticed, I have not revealed any information on Matt's background so far but don't worry my little lovelies, it shall come very soon!**

**Chapter three will probably take a bit longer to update because I'm a little busy at university right now. But I swear I'll do my best!**

**A little nice review is always greatly welcomed by the way.**

**Just saying.**

**...yeah.**

**Hahaha, well if you don't give a little feedback, it's cool y'know. I'm not going to hunt you down (or will I?)**

**Take care, folks.**


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